r reluctant invitation, and his
evident expectation of more to come, were matters that therefore annoyed
Mrs. Stannard not a little. She knew well that her husband had written
him an angry letter, demanding that he either withdraw or substantiate
the allegations he had made at the expense of Mr. Ray, but she had not
been told what those allegations were. She felt certain that the letter
had reached Mr. Gleason, for it was sent to the care of the commanding
officer at Hays, yet here was the lieutenant himself, beaming with
effusive cordiality. She felt more than certain that were "Luce" at the
post Mr. Gleason would by no means be seeking to make himself at home in
his quarters, but Luce with the eight companies of the --th was out of
reach. Gleason was striving to make himself at home with her and her
guests, and, as far as the latter were concerned, he had the sanction
and apparent approval of Captain Truscott, whose name he incessantly
quoted, as though the terms of intimacy between them were already
established beyond peradventure.

"Truscott paid me one of the highest compliments I ever remember having
received," said Mr. Gleason to the three ladies at dinner, and Mr.
Gleason was a man who was always receiving compliments of one kind or
another, if one could accept his statements. "He said that he had never
seen the troop look so well as when I turned it over to him at Wallace."
Now, as he had arrived at Wallace on the same train with the Truscotts,
and did not "turn over" anything connected with the troop but the
property returns, anybody acquainted with such matters would have known
that Truscott's commendation, if bestowed at all, was probably given to
the junior lieutenant, who had put the troop in handsome shape during
the absence of Mr. Gleason on the horse board; but what Gleason aimed at
was to make an impression on Miss Sanford's mind, since she could not be
expected to know the intricacies of such matters. Mrs. Stannard would
have been glad to correct the impression, but could not in courtesy to
her guests, and so she remained silent. She meant, however, to
discourage his visits in future, but he was too old a practitioner for
her simple methods. She had slipped into the kitchen to see how nice a
breakfast was being prepared for her guests the following morning, and
in that brief absence he had appeared at the open door-way to urge the
ladies to come out and see guard mounting. They were just down; the air